You're kidding, right?
by Rumbleroar13
Summary: Scarlett Jackson's life is turned upside down when everything she thought was fiction becomes reality. She also becomes a big part in something she could have never imagined. When Scarlett is given a task to change the fate of the Wizarding world, she meets the people that have shaped her life and lives the life she had always dreamed about while changing history itself.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

_'Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?' - Albus Dumbledore. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows._

This was my favorite quote of all time. I loved to read books. I had read pretty much everything but I only worshiped one set of books. The miracle that was Harry Potter. I loved to get lost in the world in which the characters lived, it would help me escape reality and for that, I was grateful.

I lived in a small house outside London with my mother, Paula and my younger sister, Cassy. We weren't the closest family you would ever meet, well, Cassy and I were pretty close but we didn't have a typical, loving relationship with our mother. It was more...forced; she didn't treat us like we were her children and in return, we didn't treat her like she was our mother.

It was sad really, my sister and I knew we didn't get the love we deserved but that was something I accepted pretty quickly. Cassy, however, found it a little more difficult to realize we weren't exactly wanted by our mother, but once she was introduced to Harry Potter, that changed. She saw how Harry dealt with the fact that he didn't have parents and had to live with people who despised him, it's very different to how our lives were but despite it all, Cassy took it on board and accepted what is (She also became just as big of a bookworm as I am).

That's why the quote is so important to me; As I read my books, I feel like I go on the adventures with the characters I read about, that I see how they grow and deal with problems. I feel like I can deal with any situation after reading a good book, as if the characters are there with me and that comforts me. I know it's all in my head, it pains me so much knowing it's in my head, but to me, it's as real as I am and that's what matters most.

I prided myself in the fact that my life was centered around books, I did my school work and everything but books were my haven, my escape. Due to that, I didn't really have friends, I spoke to people occasionally but I've never really had a close friend, other than Cassy and my favourite characters, of course. I had always told myself that I didn't need friends which is why I'm not saddened by the fact that my life lacks a friendship group, I'm quite relieved actually. I've seen people fall out and it kind of shocked me that they could be so mean which made me unimaginably glad that I have never been in that situation.

Apart from all that, I thought that my life would stay the same until I was able to leave home, ignored by my mother, read and revise as if my life depended on it and be a good sister to Cassy. Boy was I wrong, I was so so wrong.

My name is Scarlett Jackson, I'm thirteen years old and this is the story of how my life went from being utterly ordinary to completely insane.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

June 3rd 2014

Scarlett sat in a secluded corner of the dining hall in her small school, reading 'Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince' in her own little bubble, taking a bite of her cheese sandwich once in a while. Other students didn't even glance her way as they made their way past her table, chatting happily to their friends. It was no secret Scarlett Jackson was odd, she didn't speak to anyone and she always seemed to have a Harry Potter book in her hands, her dull green eyes scanning the page in fascination. Scarlett was the girl who everyone seemed to have an opinion about but would never say anything to her face. Not because they were scared of her, but because she gave them absolutely no reason to comment on her. She wasn't mean to anyone, she didn't refuse to speak to someone if they started a conversation with her (She just wasn't the one to start it) and she never bothered anyone. She was just Scarlett Jackson, the girl who loved Harry Potter and liked to stay in her own little world and people seemed to respect that.

Two men stepped into the dining hall and everyone seemed to go quiet. The first man was fair-skinned and had short, light brown hair, matching his eyes. His features were aristocratic and pointed giving him a regal look. He stood at about 5'10 with a slightly muscled physique, he was wearing a black suit and tie making him look rather official. His companion, a dark-skinned man with striking blue eyes, stood beside him. His black hair was cut into a short Afro and like his partner, his features were aristocratic, his jaw seemed to be chiseled by angels and made practically every girl in the room swoon. The man was slightly taller than the first, standing at 6'1 with the body of a god, he too was wearing a crisp black suit.

Their eyes scanned the students, looking for someone in particular, then they saw who they were looking for. A girl the corner of her room, reading her book contentedly. Scarlett. She hadn't notice that the hall had gone eerily quiet and two strangers had walked in. The two men sauntered over to her and cleared their throats, gaining the attention of Scarlett who's eyebrows shot up when she saw them.

"Miss Jackson?" The dark-skinned man asked.

"Yes?" Scarlett replied politely, folding the corner of the page and closing her book, giving her full attention to the two men.

"You're headmaster asked us to come and get you, he said he wished to speak with you" The fair-skinned man told her and Scarlett's brows furrowed, confused as to why Mr Richer would want to talk with her, as far as she knew, she hadn't done anything wrong.

"All right" Scarlett sighed, throwing away her eaten lunch and grabbed her satchel, clutching her book to her chest. "Lead the way" The two men nodded and lead her out, every student in the hall staring in shock. As they walked down the halls, towards the headmaster's office, the brown-haired man noticed her book.

"Potter fan?" He asked, gesturing to the book that was held against her chest as if it was the most precious thing in the world. Scarlett looked at her book and smiled.

"Absolutely. I love every one of them, they really are a work of art" Scarlett gushed passionately. "Have you read them?"

"It feels like we've practically lived them" The dark-haired man said, a secretive smirk playing at his lips. The three turned a corner and they were finally at the headmaster's office. The dark-haired man rapped on the door and Mr Richer called for them to come in. As they entered, Scarlett took a moment to look around the office, she had only been here once before and it still looked exactly the same. Cream carpets and curtains. A light wood desk against the left wall, covered in papers and pens. Against the opposite wall was a two-seater, black sofa and a coffee table, adorned with an orchid plant and cup coasters.

"Ah! Miss Jackson, I'm glad you came." Mr Richer exclaimed when he saw Scarlett. He was an odd-looking man, he was short, plump and had a bushy, white mustache that seemed to dominate his wrinkly face. He wore thick rimmed glasses that covered his kind blue eyes.

"It wasn't a problem, Mr Richer. What did you want to speak to me about?" Scarlett inquired and Mr Richer's eyes seemed to grow sad and he sighed.

"I'm terribly sorry about this, Scarlett" He said before pulling out a long, oddly shaped stick that reminded Scarlett of a wand. Before she knew it, the stick was pointed at her and a flash of light came from it and everything went black.

* * *

A loud groan escaped Scarlett's lips as she slowly regained consciousness, a killer headache already making itself known. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw that she was no longer in Mr Richer's office, or her school for that matter. She was in a very posh looking bedroom. The beautiful patterns on the walls were slightly shadowed by the morning sun which confused Scarlett even more, last time she checked, it was midday, not morning.

"Scarlett?" A small voice whispered fearfully. Scarlett's head snapped in the direction of the voice, her eyes widening when she saw it was her little sister, Cassy, sat in the chair across the room.

"Cassy? What are you doing here?" Scarlett cried, running over to her, ignoring the shooting pains in her head. She scooped her sister up in her arms and hugged her tightly. Cassy may be ten, almost eleven, but she was still her little sister, who seemed to be in the same odd (And possibly dangerous) situation as herself.

"I don't know, I was just in the library at school when two men came and took me to Mrs Grey's office, then I remembered a stick being pointed in my face and everything went black" Cassy told her sister whose eyes, if possible, widened even more. "What's going on, Scar?"

"I don't know, Cass, all I know is that we need to get out of here now!" Scarlett told her, putting her back down and taking her hand. "Stay close to me, I have no idea where we are but I don't feel like waiting for whoever brought us here to come back." Scarlett muttered the last part before gently pulling Cassy towards the door. She slowly turned the handle and a click sounded around the room, she opened the door and poked her head out. Nobody there.

The two siblings quickly ran out of the room and bolted for the stairs, only now did Scarlett realize that they were in a manor. If she and her sister hadn't been kidnapped, she would have taken her time to admire the place. As the siblings ran down the endless stairs, they stopped to catch their breath.

"What are you two young witches doing running around the manor at this time in the morning?" A voice asked from beside them. They both froze before craning their necks to see who had spoken but only saw a wall of paintings. What scared them even more was that the old man in one of the paintings seemed to be looking right at them. "Are you two all right?" He asked, Cassy screamed and latched onto her sister's arm as they gaped at the painting that had just spoken.

"D-did you just talk?" Scarlett whispered and the painting nodded.

"Of course I did. Have you never seen a talking painting before? What kind of witches are you?" He asked, looking at the girls as if they were the odd ones in this situations.

"Did you just call us witches?" Scarlett asked and the man in the painting scoffed.

"Don't tell me you're Muggles?" He eyed the two girls who were gaping at him. Muggles? Like Harry Potter muggles? "Who are you?" He questioned, seeming to lean closer to the two girls who, in turn, leaned away.

"I'm C-cassy and this i-is my sister, Scarlett" Cassy told him, her voice quiet.

"Cassy and Scarlett...hm, I've heard Theodore talking about you two before" The old man said, smiling triumphantly as if he'd just won a gold medal or something.

"Theodore?" Cassy asked but before the man could answer, a cough came from behind them making fear shoot into their hearts. They turned around and Scarlett pushed Cassy behind her as they saw a woman who must have been in her thirties with slightly bushy, brown hair. Her skin was light and she had a light speckle of freckles on her nose. Her almond coloured eyes showed only kindness but Scarlett knew better, she wasn't a people person but she knew that she shouldn't trust someone who had kidnapped her and her sister.

"It's okay, I wont hurt you" The woman said gently, her voice calming Cassy a little but her sister was still on edge, glaring at the woman.

"Who are you and why are we here?" Scarlett asked, trying not to let the fear show.

"I'm Hermione Granger- well, it's Weasley now but still..." She introduced, the last thing Scarlett heard before she passed out was her sister doing exactly the same thing.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The two sisters slowly awoke, their eyes fluttering open. They sat up and groaned when they saw that they were in the same room from earlier. The door clicked open and the woman they had seen before they passed out stepped into the room, the girls' eyes widened and they both screamed, remembering what she had said.

"STOP!" She shouted but the two girls were holding onto each other, screaming loudly. The woman grabbed a stick from her holster on her wrist and pointed it at the girls who screamed even louder. "Silencio!" The girls screams immediately stopped but their mouths were still wide open but were emitting no sound. "I know you're scared and I know this is really overwhelming for you both but I need you to calm down so I can explain what is going on" The woman told them in a calm voice despite feeling a little frazzled by the girls' screams, she hadn't heard anything like that since...since the war.

The two girls slowly closed their mouths, their eyes still wide. "Now, I'm going to take the charm off and I need you two to not scream, okay?" The woman asked slowly. Scarlett and Cassy nodded and the woman flicked her stick again.

"Wow" Cassy whispered.

"You're a witch." Scarlett stated, staring at the woman who nodded. "Witches and wizards are real" Another nod. Scarlett held her head and groaned. "I'm trying my best not to have a panic attack here, so please may you explain what is going on?" Scarlett practically begged and the woman nodded.

"Well, as I told you before, I'm Hermione Granger and you are correct, wizards and witches are real. I know this is big shock and I'm sorry for being so blunt but I think you deserve the truth right now." Hermione told the two girls who smiled a little. "Well, I work for the Ministry and a few years ago, I was asked to follow up a strong magical trace that was coming from around your area. At first it was only small so we blew it off as a young witch or wizard doing accidental magic but it grew over the years. The only detections we have ever received like that were from children who were magical and didn't go to Hogwarts or any magical school for that matter, traces like that only come from people who have not used their magic." Hermione explained. "We managed to trace the magic and it led us to you. Both of you" Scarlett and Cassy gasped, not believing what they were hearing.

"We're witches?" Cassy whispered in shock while her sister was frozen.

"Yes, you are. Very powerful witches by the looks of it" Hermione told them, smiling a little. Millions of thoughts were running through the two sisters' minds, they couldn't believe it...they were witches. The thing they had dreamed about for years was actually true and heck, one of their favorite characters was right in front of them, delivering the news. Hermione Granger- well, Weasley- was right in front of them, smiling at them, with a wand in her hand.

"Wait...If we're witches, shouldn't we have gotten our letters by now, or at least I should have" Scarlett said, narrowing her eyes a little. Hermione's face grew a little grim and sighed.

"That's the important bit about all of this. We thought the same thing and checked with Hogwarts but they didn't have your name on the list, well, they did but it was a completely different year, it was you two though" Hermione said and the two girls looked at her in confusion.

"What do you mean 'a completely different year'?" Scarlett asked and Hermione once again sighed.

"Well, you were supposed to get your letters twenty three years ago" She said slowly.

"WHAT?" The two girls shouted in outrage.

"Are you insane? What do you mean we should've got our letters _twenty three years ago_? We weren't even alive then! " Scarlett stressed. Hermione sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. She knew this was going to be the hardest part. Before she could answer, Hermione's two companions decided to stroll in.

"Well, well, well, look who decided to wake up" The dark-haired man teased. Scarlett narrowed her eyes when she saw that they were the two men who had brought her to Mr Richers office.

"Wait a second, you're the two men who took me to my headmistresses office!" Cassy exclaimed pointing at the two men who smirked.

"Indeed we are. I'm Theodore Nott, but you can call me Theo" The brown-haired man introduced, grinning.

"And I'm Blaise Zabini, pleasure to meet you" The dark-haired man said, his smirk still in place. The two girls were looking at them in shock while Hermione was glaring at them for bringing them off topic.

"Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott...The Slytherins?" Cassy asked and they nodded.

"The very same" They said in unison. Scarlett took a deep breath and let it out, her eyebrows raised.

"Jeez, kidnapped by two Slytherins...nice." She muttered. The two men chuckled.

"Back to what we were talking about-" Hermione trailed off, shooting a look at Blaise and Theo. "We were confused as to why you would be on the list from 1991 and we searched everything, thinking there could be some mistake, but there wasn't. Scarlett, you were supposed to start Hogwarts the same year as us and Cassy, you were supposed to start two years after" Hermione told them and they both shook their heads.

"But that's impossible. If we were supposed to join then wouldn't that mean we're in the wrong timeline?" Scarlett asked and all three adults nodded.

"You're correct" Theo said, nodding. "You see, every witch and wizard has a unique trace, when they're added to the list at Hogwarts, it never changes, unless they change their name or address" Theo explained. "Like Hermione said, we searched everything but the list never changes. There wasn't a Scarlett and Cassy Jackson on the list around this time but there was twenty three years ago"

"B-but that isn't possible. The only way that could ever happen is if we were brought forward in time and I thought you couldn't do that?" Cassy squeaked.

"That's exactly what we thought until we found out that someone had found a machine in the Department of Mysteries, we didn't know what it was until we interrogated the guy. The machine can transport people forward and backwards in time, pretty convenient actually" Blaise commented, his brows furrowing.

"So...I'm assuming somebody went back in time using this 'machine' and took us forward in time to now?" Scarlett guessed, they all nodded. "But who would do something like that?"

The three adult's eyes grew sad. Blaise went over to them and crouched beside them. "We're really sorry about what we're about to tell you" He said gently and the girls looked at him in confusion. What was so bad about the answer?

"It was your mother" Theo said and they both gasped. Tears filled Cassy's eyes as she tucked herself into her sister's side who had a stony expression but tears were shining in her eyes.

"She was known in our time as Paula Harwood, according to Malfoy she was a low ranking Death Eater during the war, a little crazy too. Her father, Randall Harwood was the inventor of the machine, he died before he could properly finish it which left Paula to do it. She was one of the Death Eaters we didn't manage to arrest after the war, she went into hiding and must have finished off the machine and taken the two of you. We're not sure what age you were but you must have been pretty young" Hermione said but they still looked both sad and confused.

"But if she finished off the machine after the war, wouldn't that mean that we would have been involved, we would have gone to Hogwarts too" Cassy asked, rubbing her eyes.

"That's the confusing part, it works a bit like a time turner except you aren't in two places at once, your entire existence is deleted from that timeline. What we think happened to you two was that you did live your life like us but your mother went backwards in time to when you were babies then brought you forward in time, doing so, she deleted your entire existence from our timeline making it as if you never existed. Does that make sense?" Blaise asked. Scarlett and Cassy ran what Blaise had just said through their heads.

"So, our mum went back in time to when we were babies, then took us forward so our lives that we would've lived didn't happen because she rewrote history?" Cassy asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, pretty much" Theo said nodding.

"It must have been at different times then because Cassy and I are different ages" All three adults nodded once again.

"Yes, we think she went back in time, got you then went forward and did the same with Cassy two years later" Hermione replied and then everything went silent as the two girls processed what they had been told.

"So we aren't sisters?" Cassy whispered, tears forming in her eyes again, Hermione shook her head while the two ex-Slytherins watched sadly. Scarlett hugged Cassy tightly.

"You'll always be my sister, Cass, no matter what" She told her, kissing her hair. Cassy gave her a watery smile and wrapped her arms around Scarlett's waist. "So, why now? I mean, why not just leave us to live our life as Muggles?" The adults' expressions became slightly nervous.

"I think that is something that we need to talk about formally. It's about eight in the morning, so, why don't we go downstairs and we can talk about this over breakfast?" Theo offered. The two girls nodded. "All right, Hermione, why don't you get the girls some fresh clothes and show them to the bathroom. We'll wait downstairs for you" He gave them a comforting smile before he and Blaise left.

"Here you go" Hermione said kindly as she handed the clothes to the girls.

"Thank you." They said sincerely.

"It's not a problem, the bathroom is right next door, take your time" Hermione said before leaving. The two girls looked at each other before smiling, Cassy went to get changed first leaving Scarlett to revel in everything she had been told. She was the one thing she had always dreamed about. A witch.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

When the two sisters had finished getting changed, they made their way downstairs and followed the sounds of voices. When they arrived in the dining room, they gaped at the sight that beheld them. The room wasn't gigantic but the beauty of it outwayed the size. Dark wood formed the walls and beautiful, gold-rimmed paintings hung from them. The floor was polished, light wood and Cassy smiled when she saw her reflection in it. The ceiling was breath-taking; ornately decorated making it look like it was sculped by hand. There was also a large chandelier that looked like it cost more than everything in the room put together. In the middle of the room was a round, oak wood table that could probably fit about six people, and like the ceiling, the chair backs were beautifully designed. Sat at the table was Theo, Blaise and Hermione who were all smiling at Scarlett and Cassy, plates of food surrounding them.

"Did you find your way without any problems?" Theo asked. The two girls nodded. "Good, take a seat, I'm sure you're very hungry" Theo gestured to the free seats and Cassy ran over to the one beside Hermione and Scarlett sat in the chair next to her sister. Everyone tucked into the delicious food and ate in a comfortable silence. Once everyone was full, they sat back and the comfortable silence immediately became awkward as Scarlett and Cassy were anxious about why they were being told that they were witches and the adults weren't looking forward to telling them why.

"So..." Cassy started, jumping up and down in excitement. "Why are we being told now?" Blaise and Theo looked at Hermione pleadingly who glared at them but smiled slightly when she looked at the two girls.

"Well...um..." Hermione's voice cracked. She cleared her throat and sat up straighter. "Well, we thought it would be nice for you to go back to your own timeline and...experience everything you weren't able to" She said honestly. Both Scarlett and Cassy cheered.

"That's amazing!" cried Scarlett. Then her smile faded as if she just realised something as she looked between the three adults who didn't look as excited as Cassy and herself. "But something tells me you aren't just sending us back so we can be in our own timeline" Hermione sighed in defeat.

"You're right but we don't know how you'll take it" She admitted. The two sisters looked at each other before giving Hermione a confused look.

"Why would we take it badly?" Scarlett asked.

"Besides, you don't know what we'll say unless you ask" Cassy reasoned. A small smile graced Hermione's lips but her eyes still shone with sadness and worry.

"Originally we were just going to send you back so you could become witches but then we saw that Scarlett was reading 'Half Blood Prince' and we assumed that you'd read all the books" Blaise said. Scarlett and Cassy nodded, giggling a little.

"More than we can count" Cassy told him.

"Because of that, we realised that if we send you back, you'll know what's going to happen in the future. You'll know who to trust and who not to trust, you'll know how to destroy the horcruxes and where they are" Theo explained and a look of understanding flashed across their faces.

"There were far too many deaths during the war" said Hermione, looking solemn. "Harry, Ron and I struggled to find and destroy the horcruxes -as you know- and so, the war went on longer than it should have"

"We thought that if we sent you back, not only could you go back to your own timeline but you could help us during the war." Theo finished and the two girls looked at them with raised eyebrows but said nothing. The three adults sat nervously as Scarlett and Cassy looked at each other emotionless and seemed to have a silent conversation. They nodded to each other before looking at the adults with the same emotionless expression.

"So...what you're saying is you want to send us back to our own timeline and you want us to risk our lives to change the war?" Scarlett asked bluntly. They nodded and their hopes seemed to diminish. They obviously weren't going to say yes.

"It would be our pleasure" Scarlett and Cassy smiled at them. The two Slytherin's gaped at them while Hermione's eyes filled with tears.

"You're agreeing?" She whispered. Both girls nodded.

"Of course we're agreeing" Cassy laughed. "We could save countless lives and bring Voldemort down harder than he did the first time. Who would say no to that?" Hermione hugged both girls tightly making them smile wider. She pulled away and the room was full of happiness.

"All right. Now that it's settled, we better figure out a plan" Hermione announced making Blaise and Theo snort.

"Typical Granger, wanting everything precise" Blaise teased. Hermione glared at him but his smirk stayed in place.

"That sounds like a good idea" Cassy agreed. Scarlett grinned widely.

"When do we start?"


End file.
